Reading comprehension(阅读理解)

　　Today is March 17th. About two and a half months ago, I said “Happy New Year!” to many of my friends. Just more than a month ago, I said the same thing to some other friends. In about four days, I'll repeat the same wishes to yet another group of friends. I'll do the same thing in July and also in September.

　　“How can that be?” you might be thinking. “Everyone knows that New Year's Day is in January!”

　　You might ask: “When is the New Year's Day exactly?” Different calendars(日历) give different answers to that question.

　　1．January 1st: New Year's Day on the Western/international calendar.

　　2．Between January 10th and February 19th: New Year's Day on the Chinese calendar(China, Korea, and a few other places).

　　3．March 21st: New Year's Day on the traditional Persian(波斯的) calendar(Iran伊朗).

　　4．Mid-July(usually the 16th): New Year's Day on the Islamic(伊斯兰教的) calendar.

　　5．September: New Year's Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church(东正教的) calendars(Central and Eastern Europe．and, usually, on the Jewish(犹太教的) calendar.

　　And these are just the New Year's Days that I know about! Actually, there are probably even more!

Choose the best answer(根据短文内容，选择最恰当的答案，用A、B、C或D表示)

1．The first time the writer said, “Happy New Year!” was around January 1st. The second time was on or before ________.

[　　]

2．The author will say “Happy New Year” around March 21st to some ________ friends.

[　　]

3．The author uses quotation marks(“”) in the second paragraph to show that the words inside the quotation marks are ________.

[　　]

4．The New Year's Day on most Eastern Orthodox Church calendars and the New Year's Day on the Jewish calendar are ________.

[　　]

A．probably on different dates

B．not always in September

C．probably on the same date

D．always September 1st

5．The Chinese calendar is used ________.

[　　]

A．only in China

B．in several different places

C．only in China and Korea

D．in all Asian countries

6．The word “Years” in the title of this short article ________.

[　　]

A．suggests that January 1.st is at different times on different calendars

B．is grammatically incorrect and should actually be New Year's

C．suggests that one has to say “Happy New Year!” many, many times in his whole life

D．was used because New Year's Day is at different times on different calendars

A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don’t start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce(确保) bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically(生物学上)these sleepyhead(贪睡者)students aren’t used to the early hour.

　　“Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent (青春期的)sleep at Brown’s School of Medicine.

　　Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level, she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns(方式).

　　Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought.

　　Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at night and sleep later in the morning. But it’s not just a matter of choice---their bodies are going through a change of sleep patterns.

　　All of this makes the transfer(迁移)from middle school to high school---which may start one hour earlier in the morning----all the more difficult, Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescents are up against difficulties when they try to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first bell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying. “I need a timeout.”

1.Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because _______.

A．it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime

B．it is biologically difficult for students to rise early

C．students work so late at night that they can’t get up early

D．students are so lazy that they don’t like to go to school early

2.The underlined phrase nod off most probably means _______.

A．turn around       B．agree with others   C．fall asleep         D．refuse to work

3.What might be a reason for the hard transfer from middle school to high school?

A．Adolescents depend more on their parents.

B．Adolescents have to choose their sleep patterns.

C．Adolescents sleep better than they did at childhood.

D．Adolescents need more sleep than they used to.

4.What is the test mainly about?

A．Adolescent health care.

B．Problems in adolescent learning.

C．Adolescent sleep difficulties.

D．Changes in adolescent sleep needs and patterns.

 As many as 10 of the 17 kinds of penguins（企鹅）may be in danger of disappearing. The number of penguins have decreased(减少) by 30% since 1987.

　　Penguins are black and white birds that live in the southern part of the world. They are common in South America，New Zealand，Australia and South Africa. Many live near cold waters. But some live near warm waters in Galapagos Islands. Penguins cannot fly，but they are fine swimmers. Penguins eat fish and krill(磷虾).

　　The warming of the earth is the decrease in penguin populations. The heating of the air has caused ocean waters to become warmer. Higher water temperatures have reduced the supply of fish and krill. Some years later these birds are completely unable to reproduce(繁殖).　 Besides，many adult penguins die of hunger.

　　Widespread(广泛的) fishing，exploration for oil and oil leaks(漏) also make penguins be in danger. Poisonous organisms(生物) in ocean water are another danger. Penguins also have their enemies，including wild dogs，sharks，seals and sea lions.

　　News about penguins is not all bad，however. Several years ago，oil leaking from a ship hurt 40% of the penguins in South Africa. The penguins became covered with oil. But thousands of people helped clean and treat the birds well. Then they returned the penguins to the wild.　 Now these South African penguins are reproducing in higher numbers than before the oil leaking.

1.Penguins ___________.

A．can swim better than fly                  B．can be found near Oceania (大洋洲)

C．eat fish only冬腊月                     D．live only in cold waters.

2.Which of the following is NOT the cause of penguin's decrease in numbers?

A．Oil searching.                          B．Widespread fishing.

C．Human's killing.                         D．Warming of the oceans.

3. Why are the penguins in South Africa reproducing in higher numbers than before the oil leaking?

A．Because people removed the ship.

B．Because people sent a lot of penguins to the wild.

C．Because people helped the penguins.

D．Because people treated the penguins well.

In the Caucasus region（高加索地区）, nearly 50 out of every 100,000 people live to celebrate their 100^th birthday, and many don’t stop at 100! By comparison, in America only 3 people in 100,000 reach 100. But these Caucasus people aren’t alone. The Pakistani Hunzas, who live high in the Himalaya Mountains, and the Vilcabambans of the Andes Mountains in Ecuador seem to share the secret of long life too.

　　These peoples remain healthy in body and spirit despite the passage of time. While many older persons in industrial societies become weak and ill in their 60s and 70s, some Caucasus people aged 110-140, work in the fields beside their great-great-grandchildren. Even the idea of aging is foreign to them. When asked, “At what age does youth end?” most of these old people had no answer. Several replied, “Well, perhaps at age 80.” The very youngest estimate was age 60.

　　What accounts for this ability to survive (live) to such old age, and to survive so well? First of all, hard physical work is a way of life for all of these long-lived peoples. They began their long days of physical labor as children and never seem to stop. For example, Mr. Rustam is 142 years of age. He remembers his life experience: the Crimean War of 1854; the Turkish War of 1878; the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. His wife is 116 years old. They have been married for 90 years. Mr. Rustam has no plan of retiring from his life as a farmer. “Why? What else would I do?” he asks. Oh, he’s slowed down a bit. Now he might quit (stop working) for the day after 6 hours in the field instead of 10.

　　All these people get healthful rewards from the environment in which they work. They all come from mountainous regions. They live and work at elevations（海拔）of 5,000 to 12, 000 feet(1,660 to 4,000meters) above sea level. The air has less oxygen and is pollution-free. This reduced oxygen environment makes the heart and blood vessel（血管）system stronger.

　　Another factor（因素）that may lead to the good health of these people is their isolation. To a great extent, they are separated from the pressure（压力）and worries of industrial society.

　　Inherited（遗传的） factors also play some role. Most of the longest-lived peoples had parents and grandparents who also reached very old age. Good family genes may, therefore, be one factor in living longer.

　　Finally, although these three groups don’t eat exactly the same foods, their diets are similar. All of them eat little animal meat. Their diets are full of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, cheese and milk. They never eat more food than their bodies need.

　　It is clear that isolation from urban pressure and pollution, clean mountain air, daily hard work, moderate diets, good genes, and a youthful approach to life all lead to the health and remarkable long life of all these people.

1. What is the main idea of this article?

A．Cause and effect of long-lived life.

B．People in the world enjoying a longer life.

C．Factors leading to the health and long life of people.

D．A description of several societies where people living a long life.

2. “The idea of aging is foreign to them” means that _________.

A．they don’t care much about their age

B．they have no idea of how old they are

C．they won’t say anything about their age until they are asked to

D．the idea of getting old has never come into their mind

3. How do you think the writer feels about these long-lived people?

A．He is much impressed with them.

B．He doesn’t care a bit about them.

C．He hopes that they will live a still longer life.

D．He doesn’t think their life is full of pressure and worries.